Glad you figured it out. Have you looked at:
http://forum.davesmithinstruments.com/index.php/topic,34.0.html
Yes a good few times, i've learnt a hell of a lot from that thread but no one seems to ever engage in it, I was having a brain freeze moment trying to make that kick yesterday, I thought i had tried different compression settings when it turns out i hadn't it was sending me loopy lol.
I would like the sound design thread moving down here so people see it more and don't think its a "no go area" because its stickied, i dont know why people dont chat more in their i've tried a few times to get a conversation started about sound design in the tempest but no one seems to want to share their experiences and ideas
So, the biggest trick/challenge in my opinion with getting good kicks is that when you start using multiple oscillators/samples for low kick drum frequencies they phase with each other in a way that usually results in the kick becoming flabby/tubby and whatever other adjectives people like to throw around for less punchy kick drums
Same thing goes for clicky kick transients. If they're not exactly lined up quite right, it can make the transient seem muddy rather than punchier. Because of this, some techniques I use are:
- Thinking of your kick as 2 primary elements: the transient and the body. Try to design for each one and keep them relatively clean (unless you're going for a dirty kind of thing). So I might use a sample for my transient, and then use an Aux Envelope to fade in my analog oscillator for the body because having them start at the same time might sound kind of flabby... it also can sound really good, so you have to use your ears first and foremost!
- Use your ears and tune your elements together. Try to pitch your kick samples to be in tune with your analog oscillators, etc.
- Pick complimentary elements. If Osc 3 is doing a low deep 808 sound, try using Osc 4 for a clicky mid-high frequency sound. Think of your sound design from both a time domain perspective (transient/body) as well as frequency (low/mid/high). Example: You use a Osc 1 as a Triangle for a low boomy transient layered with a short clicky high frequency sample on Osc 3. You then quickly fade out the low boomy Osc 1 as Osc 4 fades in with low digital sine wave for a long body/sustain sound.
Also worth pointing out, the digital oscillator pre/post filter setting... if you make the samples post-filter (0/100) there's like a 3 dB increase in the volume of the sample. I typically like to keep my samples post-filter because it can make them so much louder and gives me more flexibility with balancing them against my analog oscillators. If you look at my first attached picture, on the left is a pre-filter sample and on the right is the post-filter version. Notice how much bigger than transient is in the post-filter.
Worth noting is that it also makes a big difference for the digital oscillators as well, as my second attached picture is using a digital Sine wave... on the left is the pre-filter and the right is post-filter and you can see the post-filter version is louder. For making big sub-bass sounds this is really useful for bringing in some big low end with the digital sines.